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Greencastle Summer Music Festival turns to Russian fare
The Greencastle Summer Music Festival will present mezzo soprano Yana Weinstein and her brother, pianist Tony Weinstein, director of the DePauw School of Music Accompanying Center, in a program of Russian art songs Wednesday in the sanctuary of Gobin Memorial United Methodist Church.
Admission to the 7:30 p.m. concert is free. The series, now in its seventh season, is supported by donations from local individuals and businesses, including the Paul and Joanne Kissinger Endowment and Chief's Restaurant.
Remaining concerts in the festival include pianist May Phang on Aug. 10 and soprano Barbara Paré and pianist John Clodfelter on Aug. 17.
"I believe this is our first concert performed by siblings," DePauw music professor Eric Edberg, festival founder and director, said. "We've had spouses, such as Matvey Lapin and Katya Kramer-Lapin, and my mother and I have played concerts together, but as far as I know Yana and Tony are our first brother-sister performers."
Ukrainian-born Yana Weinstein grew up in a family of musicians and began studying voice and piano at age five. Shortly following her graduation with her degrees in voice and choral conducting, her family immigrated to the U.S., where she has been living for 17 years.
She earned a bachelor's degree magna cum laude in vocal performance from Northern Kentucky University.
In 2000, she was a Merit Fellowship student at the Ohio State University, studying with Dr. Karen Peeler as a graduate teaching assistant. While at OSU, she appeared as Cherubino in "Le Nozze di Figaro," Gherardino in "Gianni Schicchi," and gave a performance of Lee Hoiby's mono-opera "Bon Appetit!" In 2002, she received her master's degree in vocal performance.
In 2009, she moved to Bloomington to pursue a doctoral degree in voice. This season, Yana has appeared as Suor Zelatrice in the Jacobs School of Music production of Puccini's "Suor Angelica" and performed in Liz Avery's "Singing in Czech" workshop.
Yana has been adjunct professor of voice at Kenyon College and had maintained private voice studios in Columbus and Cincinnati. She is an active recitalist and chamber musician, and has given a number of programs with special emphasis on 19th- and 20th-century Russian repertoire.
Pianist Tony Weinstein is a fourth-generation musician who began his musical studies at home. At age 11, he became a student at the "School Years" Choral School in his native city, and, as a member of the school's Senior Choir (in which his sister was a soloist), won international choral competitions in Bulgaria, Spain and the former Soviet Union. After the family immigrated to the U.S. in 1993, he began piano studies at the School for Creative and Performing Arts in Cincinnati.
Tony received a double degree (BM/BA) with majors in piano performance and pure mathematics and a minor in music history from Oberlin College. Having earned an MM and a PD from Indiana University, he is currently pursuing his doctorate as a student of Prof. Edlina-Dubinsky. He has been an associate instructor of piano and music theory as well as piano accompanying coordinator.
In his second year as director of the Accompanying Center at DePauw, he is adjunct professor of piano at Vincennes University. He combines an active solo repertoire with a strong interest in collaborative and chamber music.